Sheet WA · 2026 rules

Washington Property Tax Calculator

Washington assesses at 100% of true and fair value and has no homestead exemption or assessment cap. Regular levies, including the state school levy, together may not exceed $10 per $1,000; voter-approved excess levies are added on top.

Rules verified Oct 7, 2026 13 primary sources Editorial policy

Estimate your 2026 Washington bill

Assessed value ($)

Rate unit on your bill

Mills Per $100 Percent

Regular levies per $1,000 (inside the 1% limit)

Voter-approved excess, bond, port and PUD levies per $1,000

Approved shared exemption, bill credits and charges (optional)

Extra exemption approved for EVERY modeled levy (assessed $)

The same assessed-value amount must apply to Regular levies, Excess and other levies. Different approvals or bases require the prepared levy worksheet. Do not repeat relief already deducted.

Other approved credits on the bill ($)

Fixed charges or special assessments ($)

Your tax statement lists each levy per $1,000; add regular levies (state school, county, city, road, fire, library) in one box and voter-approved excess and bond levies in the other.

Washington · 2026 (taxes levied for collection in 2026, based on value as of Jan 1, 2025) Needs inputs

Washington estimated annual property tax —

Tax — Regular levies —
Tax — Excess and other levies —
Reduced by statewide bill limit —
Credits subtracted —
Fixed charges added —

Per month (annual ÷ 12) —

What was applied Enter the true and fair value from the assessment notice.

Assessed value after ratio and cap —

Taxable value — Regular levies —

Taxable value — Excess and other levies —

Effective rate on market value —

What this estimate leaves out

Different allowances for different levies need separately approved taxable bases in the prepared levy worksheet. The extra exemption above subtracts the same assessed-dollar amount from every modeled levy.

How Washington turns value into a tax bill

Washington statewide rules
Step	Washington rule	Source
Value	Assessed value (100% of true and fair value, as of January 1 of the prior year)	[1][2]
Assessment	100% of true and fair value	[1][2]
Annual limit	No cap on an individual assessment. Each district’s regular levy may grow at most 1% a year plus new construction (a revenue limit, not a parcel cap).
Exemptions	No general homestead exemption. The senior and disabled exemption is income-tested by county and is described below as outside the model.
Rate	Regular levies: local rate — you enter it.Regular levies inside the 1% limit: state school levy (Parts 1 and 2, county-equalized rate) plus county, city, road, fire, library and other local regular levies - rate per $1,000 from your tax statement
Rate	Excess and other levies: local rate — you enter it.Levies outside the 1% limit: voter-approved excess levies (school enrichment, bonds, other special levies) and port / public utility district levies
Bill limit	Constitutional/statutory 1% limit: all regular levies by the state and taxing districts may not exceed 1% of true and fair value ($10 per $1,000); voter-approved excess levies and port/PUD levies are outside it	[3]

Washington property tax rules in brief

Washington assessors value all property at 100% of true and fair value as of January 1, and taxes are collected the following year.¹²

The total of regular levies by the state and local districts may not exceed 1% of true and fair value ($10 per $1,000); voter-approved excess levies and port/PUD levies fall outside that limit.³

Local regular levies other than the state's are further capped in aggregate at $5.90 per $1,000.⁴

The state school levy is set statewide but equalized by each county's assessment ratio, so its printed rate differs by county (2025: $2.12 to $2.92 per $1,000 for Parts 1 and 2).⁵¹¹

Washington has no general homestead exemption; property tax relief for home owners is limited to income-tested programs for seniors 61+, people retired due to disability, and qualifying disabled veterans.⁷⁶

For taxes collected in 2026, every tier of that program exempts the home from state levy Part 2 and local excess levies, and the two lower-income tiers also exempt part of the value from regular levies.¹⁰⁶⁹

Starting with 2027 collections, ESSB 6162 replaces the two-part state school levy with one levy of $2.075355 per $1,000 and enlarges the senior exemption.⁸⁶

In Seattle (King County levy code 0010) the 2026 total levy rate is $9.90845 per $1,000 of assessed value. On the Assessor's 2026 median Seattle residential value of $833,000 that is $8,253.74 for the year, up from $7,943.77 in 2025 (median $864,000 at $9.19418): the median value fell 3.6% while the rate rose 7.8%.¹²¹³

Worked example

Illustrative rates: regular 8.00 and excess 3.00 per $1,000. 600,000 → 4,800.00 (under the 6,000.00 limit) + 1,800.00 = 6,600.00.

Washington worked example
Line	Taxable value	Tax
Regular levies at 8 mills	$600,000.00	$4,800.00
Excess and other levies at 3 mills	$600,000.00	$1,800.00
Annual total		$6,600.00

Left to your local bill

Senior citizen / disabled person / disabled veteran exemption (RCW 84.36.381): age 61+ (or retired due to disability, or veteran with 40%+ service-connected rating or total disability rating); county-specific combined-disposable-income thresholds (IT 1-IT 3, published by DOR). For 2026 collections: all qualifying tiers exempt from state school levy Part 2 and all local excess levies; IT 1 also exempt from regular levies on the greater of $60,000 or 60% of value; IT 2 on the greater of $50,000 or 35% of value, not to exceed $70,000; value frozen at first qualifying year. Not encoded because the 'greater of' amounts and county income thresholds do not fit a single fixed amount or percent.
Senior/disabled property tax deferral, limited income deferral, and the widow/widower of veterans grant
1% annual levy-growth limit (101% limit factor) and levy lid lifts - they limit total district levies, not an individual parcel's value
$5.90 per $1,000 aggregate limit on junior/senior district levies and individual district rate maximums (prorationing)
Current-use (open space, farm, timber) valuation; home-improvement exemption (RCW 84.36.400)
Special assessments, stormwater/surface water fees, noxious weed and other non-ad-valorem charges
County-to-county variation in the equalized state school levy rate

Census context, not a rate

American Community Survey 2020–2024: median owner-occupied value $564,600 (±$1,940), median real-estate taxes $4,556 (±$16). Dividing one by the other gives 0.81% for Washington. Tables B25077 and B25103; why it is only context.

Sources

app.leg.wa.govRCW 84.40.030(1), read 2026-10-07.
“All property must be valued at one hundred percent of its true and fair value in money and assessed on the same basis unless specifically provided otherwise by law.”
app.leg.wa.govRCW 84.40.020, read 2026-10-07.
“All real property in this state subject to taxation shall be listed and assessed every year, with reference to its value on the first day of January of the year in which it is assessed.”
app.leg.wa.govRCW 84.52.050, read 2026-10-07.
“Except as hereinafter provided, the aggregate of all tax levies upon real and personal property by the state and all taxing districts, now existing or hereafter created, shall not in any year exceed one percentum of the true and fair value of such property in money:”
app.leg.wa.govRCW 84.52.043(2) (effective until January 1, 2027), read 2026-10-07.
“The aggregate levies of junior taxing districts and senior taxing districts, other than the state, may not exceed $5.90 per $1,000 of assessed valuation.”
dor.wa.govWashington DOR, State School Levy Property Tax Tips, read 2026-10-07.
“From 2018 through 2026, the state school levy consisted of two parts, referred to as Part 1 and Part 2.”
dor.wa.govWashington DOR Special Notice, Changes to property tax relief programs and state school levy (June 10, 2026), read 2026-10-07.
“IT1 Exempt from paying regular property taxes on the greater of $60,000 or 60% of the valuation of their residence (no limit).”
app.leg.wa.govRCW 84.36.381(3)(a), read 2026-10-07.
“(i) Sixty-one years of age or older on December 31st of the year in which the exemption claim is filed, or must have been, at the time of filing, retired from regular gainful employment by reason of disability;”
app.leg.wa.govRCW 84.52.065(2)(a), as amended by 2026 c 163 s 301, read 2026-10-07.
“For taxes levied for collection in calendar year 2027, the state property tax levy rate is $2.075355 per $1,000 of assessed value.”
dor.wa.govWashington DOR Special Notice (June 10, 2026) - current exemption levels, read 2026-10-07.
“IT2 Exempt from paying regular property taxes on the greater of $50,000 or 35% of the valuation of their residence, but not to exceed $70,000 of the valuation.”
dor.wa.govWashington DOR Special Notice (June 10, 2026) - current exemption levels, read 2026-10-07.
“All income threshold categories Exempt from paying Part 2 of the state school levy and all local excess property taxes on a qualified primary residence.”
dor.wa.govWashington DOR, State School Levy Property Tax Tips, read 2026-10-07.
“For the 2025 tax year, county state school levy rates ranged from $2.12 and $2.92 per $1,000 assessed value for both Part 1 and Part 2.”
kingcounty.govKing County Assessor, Median Residential Value and Tax Change: Seattle, 2025-2026, read 2026-10-07.
“This district saw an overall 0.35207 increase in their levy rate”
kingcounty.govKing County Assessor, 2026 Codes and Levies by city (levy code 0010), read 2026-10-07.
“Seattle 0010 9.90845”

Bordering jurisdictions

Elsewhere in the region:

Rules verified October 7, 2026 by the Property Tax Calculator Editorial Team. Report a correction